


and he that shoots the best shall bear the prize away

by askmeaboutmyoctopustheory



Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Robin Hood Fusion, BAMF Clint Barton, Clint Barton is Robin Hood, Fairy Tale Elements, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Nobility
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22635631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory/pseuds/askmeaboutmyoctopustheory
Summary: ~At one point in his teenhood, Clint may have entertained the idea of courting James, or being courted by him. If Clint had been introduced to society as an eligible bachelor, it may have been a possibility. Instead, he became a bandit and James ended up marrying royalty. It made more sense than Clint marrying James, their families were already aligned politically and socially.----The Robin Hood au filled with hijinks and adventure and questionable stunts
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 16
Kudos: 78
Collections: Marvel Trumps Hate 2019





	and he that shoots the best shall bear the prize away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roe87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roe87/gifts).



> *mic screech feedback* hello! i'm not dead, i just have been working on lots of fics that will be posted shortly
> 
> like this one that i wrote for marvel trumps hate! thank you to all who participated in creating or bidding! 
> 
> i had a lot of fun with this, thank you robin for putting up with my chaotic nature and slight delays
> 
> and thank you pip sm for the beta and knowing how commas work'
> 
> oh and the title is from one of the original robin hood ballads

The King was kind and his lords were loyal and his country was flourishing. They had returned from the crusades and the King had been whisked away by another responsibility, leaving his brother to oversee his court and responsibilities.

In another corner of the kingdom, others were not so happy. The eldest Barton brother of Locksley and the last scion of his family found himself ambushed by the sheriff and his men upon returning from war. The younger Barton was presumed dead, having cast off his noble titles and lived life as an outlaw. With the Barton family effectively null, the sheriff’s men sacked and burned the castle.

➸

Clint fell to his knees surrounded by the ruins of his family’s castle. His brother had evidently been captured worshipping the devil and the Barton land forfeited to the Sheriff. The blind chaplin that had long since tended to his family’s affairs was all who remained at the ruins, waiting for the youngest’s return. The kind foreigner who had helped him escape from prison laid her surprisingly strong hand on his shoulder.

“You should go, Kamala. I cannot ask you to come with me where I am going.”

“If you go alone, you’ll get yourself killed.”

“If I may advise you-” The chaplin began.

“You always do, Matthew.” Clint muttered but grinned anyway. “Go on.”   
  
“Your revenge will only lead to your destruction.”

“Thought you might say that.” Clint got up and slung his arm around the blind man’s shoulders. “That’s why I’m gonna bring you with me, Matty! How about it?”

“Alright alright, where to first?”    
  
Clint’s face fell serious again as he pulled out the ring that Natasha had pressed into his hand as she lay dying in the streets. She had wanted him to return it to her reclusive brother James as her dying wish. Clint and James had fought together in some small skirmishes over land and various feudal disputes many years ago. He considered the two of them acquaintances, who might have grown closer had the politics of the area not driven half the country to war. 

When Clint became an outlaw was around the same time that James had apparently returned from the crusades with one less arm. With some help from the spectacularly talented town smith and a traveling witch, James was rumored to have a metallic arm.

“We’ve got a stop before this though.” Clint slipped the ring onto a cord around his neck and gestured into Sherwood forest. “Shall we?”

They traversed through the trees, taking measured twists and turns until Clint stopped in front of a huge sprawling oak tree. He paused and seemed to be glancing expectantly up at the thick branches. Clint stepped forward a bit and a branch cracked under his foot and in a blur of hair and limbs; there was a tall young woman with long, dark hair pulling a bow and arrow at an arm’s distance from Clint.

“Aw, Hawkeye.” Clint grinned as he lifted his hand to push the bow down. “I go to prison for a bit and what? All my hard work goes out the window? You’re rusty, Kate.”

The young woman, Kate, just rolled her eyes and punched Clint lightly on the shoulder. “Shut it. You hear what they’re calling you now? Robin Hood?”   
  
“Yeah because I rob people and I wear a hood. Real original.” Clint laughed and gestured at another woman behind Kate to come and greet him only to be met with an eye roll. “Next you’ll tell me Scarlet here was nicknamed because of her bright red hair.” He slung his arms around them both. “Good to see you too, Wanda.”

“I see you’ve brought company.” The second young woman gestured to where Kamala and Matt were a bit behind Clint.

“Yes! This one here, she’s a real marvel! She helped me escape from prison!” Clint pulled Kamala into their fold. “And this is my father’s old chaplin Matthew, who’s decided to be the angel on my shoulder.”   
  
The group of four all introduced themselves and became properly acquainted before Kate seemed to be the one who noticed an absence first. 

“Clint…” She started, eyes darting around the group meaningfully. “The Widow…?”   
  
Clint swallowed. “My lovely Merry Men, who it seems will always be mostly women. We have suffered a loss. Tonight, we thieve from the kings and then eat like them too.” He seemed a bit choked up. “For Natasha.”   
  


That night they drank some ale that they had lifted from a passing carriage and ate the venison that Kate had shot earlier. Clint filled them in on the details of his imprisonment and subsequent escape and return to his father’s land. They would leave the next day for Lord Barnes’ land to return James’ ring at Natasha’s last request. 

“We’ll head out at first light.” Clint stated after they had extinguished the fire and pulled bedrolls out.

And as soon as the dawn broke into the leaves of their oak hideaway, the band of outlaws roused themselves and found Kamala and Clint with a tin pot of a strange dark beverage. Both claimed it would keep them energized and focused on their journey, but Wanda and Kate both grimaced as they swallowed the bitter liquid.

The group reached the outskirts of Lord Barnes’ land around midday and rested to eat some of the food that they had packed with them for the journey. Clint had no clue if James even still lived at his father’s castle, much less if he would be taking callers. Surely even as an outlaw, Clint would have heard if one of the major lords’ sons had been married off or something of the sort. 

Kate and Wanda stayed where they had pitched an impromptu camp while Clint took Kamala and Matt with him towards the castle. There was no sign of life around the castle and there wasn’t much else Clint could do besides knock on the heavy front door.

A blue eye appeared in the peephole and a shock of blonde hair framing half of a dainty face was visible through the small gap. “No more beggars”

Clint sighed. “Tell Lord Barnes that Clinton of Locksley is at the door.”   
  
Kamala snickered at Clint’s full name but turned it into a cough at his glare. 

The shorter person on the other side of the door returned. “His lordship is not here.”   
  
“Is his son James at home?”   
  
“Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t.” The voice on the other side of the door taunted. 

“Your country’s hospitality is almost as pleasant as it’s weather.” Kamala said wryly.

“We’re leaving!” Clint said loudly towards the door.

They had started walking down the path away from the castle when the door cracked open and a man only a bit younger than Clint but a good foot shorter stood in the doorway.

“Just, leave your weapons.” Clint reluctantly put his bow down and unsheathed his dagger. Kamala and Matt also moved to disarm themselves but the short blond raised a hand. “And… Just you.”   
  
Clint met eyes with Kamala and nodded, gripping Matt’s shoulder assuredly as he walked into the dark entryway and into a sitting room.    
  
“Wait here.”

The short man hurried up the stairs and Clint saw movement on the balcony above the sitting room. 

“Who are you?” A voice asked from the area where Clint had clocked the movement.

“Clint of Locksley.”

“You lie, he is dead. Step into the light.” 

“I am quite alive.” Clint sighed and stepped forward. “Shall I do a dance for you? Who am I even speaking to?”   
  


“Lord James Barnes.” 

Clint chuckled. “Why don’t you show yourself? We fought side by side many times.”   
  
When the figure came into the light Clint could see the fluffy brown hair and strong jaw that he remembered, but something seemed a bit off. Maybe it was the angle.

“The years have been kind to you.”

“Thank you.” He shifted on his feet. “You can never be too careful these days with all of these outlaws running around. Would not want to let the wrong one into your home.”   
  
Clint nodded and looked down at his feet. “I know this well. I would be willing to offer my protection of your land, as I am familiar with said outlaws.”   
  
“Because you are one.” Barnes snapped. “And as you can see, we have enough protection.”   
  
Barnes turned on his heel and retreated back into the shadows at the same moment Clint felt the point of a dagger in his back.    
  
“You are truly courageous against an unarmed man.” Clint remarked.

He reached around his back and took advantage of the height he had on his attacker to lean down and launch them over his head and into the table. Clint only had an instant to recover before he had to dip and dodge the slashes with the dagger and another shorter knife that his masked attacker was advancing on him with. He found himself pinned against the wall and yanked a hunting trophy off its plaque to defend himself with the antlers. 

Clint was able to push back against the swipes of the blades at the expense of the antlers until his attacker was pushed against the opposite wall. With one hand he smacked the other’s wrist and made them drop their weapon. Clint wrenched his attacker’s hands apart and began to lower the left arm towards the torch on the wall next to him. His eyes grew wide as he saw the flames lick up around the man’s arm and reveal a metallic shine. Clint used his other hand to take the faceplate of his aggressor.

“James?” He blinked several times in surprise. His momentary lapse in focus allowed James to pull his arms back into himself and hike his leg up to knee Clint in the groin and bring him to the ground. “Hello there, Lord Barnes.”

➸

“It was her last wish.” Clint finished as he pressed the ring into James’ hand as Natasha had done a few months prior being dead on the streets.

“How do I know you didn’t just abandon her to save yourself?” James’ voice was sharp.

“Nobody has felt her loss more than I.” Clint said quietly, a bit too honestly. 

He looked over at James from where they were sitting in the courtyard. James was surveying him with the noble air that comes along with the kids who paid attention to their tutors and enjoyed life at court. 

“I know,” James said as they finally broke eye contact. “I thought you two would marry with how close you were.”   
  
Clint barked out a laugh. “Oh good lord, man. Your sister and I were closer than I was to my own brother.” He swallowed a bit awkwardly. “I could never love her that way.” He added on with a bit of weight behind the words.

Barnes looked over again, this time raking his eyes over Clint’s face and twitching his mouth into a bit of a smile. 

“Did you like our little theatrics back in the sitting room?” James asked with a teasing voice. 

“I could appreciate it once I was sure that you were not going to kill me,” Clint said with a scowl but he cracked a smile a moment later. “Your ward looks remarkably like you.”   
  
“Indeed. He is my cousin, Lord Boyle’s boy.” James’ voice was fond. “He will likely take over this land when I marry.”   
  
Clint frowned a bit as he wracked his brain for any announcements or invitations he had stolen announcing a wedding of Lord Barnes. For James to be giving up his land, it would suggest upward mobility. 

Barnes noticed Clint’s confusion and chuckled a bit. “Of course, outlaws are not privy to Royal wedding announcements. The king's brother has courted me and arranged our wedding.”

Clint’s mouth dropped a bit in shock. King Thor had been abroad for some time, and his brother was widely known to be planning to usurp the throne. No doubt the public wedding to a major Lord would gain some favors in the eye of the people. By the thin line of James’ mouth, he knew he was being used as a pawn.

“James…” Clint started softly, words catching in his throat. “Why? You could wed anyone in the land? Why settle for the greasy snake of a stand-in king?”   
  
James laughed bitterly and turned to look straight at Clint. “I see now why you didn’t make it in court, with that mouth on you.”

“Yeah, life of an outlaw is much less stringent.”

“You say I could wed anyone in the country yet here I am, many years after my introduction to the court, still a bachelor.” James looked down at his hands, his sleeve still singed from where Clint had stuck it into the torch. “The only person I would ever love is not attainable, so I must think politically rather than emotionally.”   
  
Clint just looked at James with a sad expression for a few moments before the other man looked over at him and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I knew this was likely from the time I took my lordship.” James shrugged. “Come to the wedding celebration? It will be in Nottingham next month!”

Clint swallowed and stood up to take his leave. “Yes, Lord Barnes. I will do my best to attend.”

Clint rejoined Kamala and Matt, who had made their way inside the castle after the brief tussle. He bid James goodbye and they left to return to where Kate and Wanda were waiting. Clint knew he was being uncharacteristically quiet but he couldn’t help but replay the conversation he had with James over in his head.

At one point in his teenhood, Clint may have entertained the idea of courting James, or being courted by him. If Clint had been introduced to society as an eligible bachelor, it may have been a possibility. Instead, he became a bandit and James ended up marrying royalty. It made more sense than Clint marrying James, their families were already aligned politically and socially. 

“He returns!” Kate crowed from where she was perched in a tree when they made their way back. “I thought you might’ve run off with Lord Barnes.”

Clint just rolled his eyes at her. “Pick any heavy pockets while we were gone?” 

Wanda also swung down from the tree. “Indeed! There were two royal carriages! All the way out here!” 

She and Kate opened their bags to reveal coin purses loaded with gold, a few silver goblets, a spool of intricate lace, and an ornate looking glass. Wanda also had a new dagger strapped onto her belt. 

“Nice.” Clint remarked. He flicked a few coins to everyone. “Think there’s a tavern around here that won’t complain too bad about a grimy bunch of outlaws?”

“Speak for yourself, I bathed the other day.” Kate griped back at him.

Clint fell back into the easy routine of traveling , stealing from the nicer carriages they passed, and drinking in whichever tavern they would find in the evening. He had mostly forgotten about his conversation with James until he overheard some chatter at the inn about the Royal wedding. Kate gave him a bit of a side-eye when he drank a few more pints than necessary that night. 

“You gonna go to the celebration?” She asked the next morning when Clint was complaining about the sun on their journey. “I think there’s an archery competition on one of the days.”   
  
“Is there actually or are you just trying to bribe me into going?”

“I’m trying to bribe you by telling you that there actually is an archery contest, winner’s choice of prize from the king’s brother himself.”

The group paused for a break and Clint rubbed the bridge of his nose to try and think through his headache. The three girls, Matt, and their newest tagalong Peter were discussing the wedding celebrations amongst themselves. They weren’t far from Nottingham, about two days walk and less if they could convince a merchant to let them ride in their wagon.

“Alright. We’ll go.” Clint said finally. “We must stop in the next town for I need new arrowheads and I’m assuming some of you want nicer apparel for the royal wedding festivities .”

As it turned out, they were able to find a craftsman making his way to Nottingham at the next town and he offered to take them in his cart to the outskirts of the royal city. There were no spare rooms in any roadside inns, so the outlaws set up a small camp outside of the city so they could easily get to the royal plaza in the morning.

  
When the day broke, Clint dressed in his best clothes and stole a hat out of the satchel of a traveling lord. He offered his arm to Kate who grinned as she took it, dressed in a deep purple riding outfit. The others trailed behind them, taking in the revelry and madness of the festival. 

“Are you going to sign up for the contest?” Kate asked as they passed the row of targets.

“I’m not going to sign up but I’m going to win anyway.” Clint said as he waggled his eyebrows. “And I’m going to need your help, all of you.” He shouted the last bit to the others behind them

“Of course you do, you’d be lost without us.” Wanda shouted back at him. 

He stayed mostly amongst the merchant and trader tents, keeping a low profile. Cint was fairly sure there was still a bounty on him if he was recognized. He bought a cup of wine and downed it as he waited for the announcement of the royal arrival.

Clint could see James on the arm of the stand-in king, both of them with long dark hair and a strong jawline. They were both wearing the emerald color of the royal family and the king’s brother had a ridiculous crown with long curved horns on it. The herald announced that the archery competition would begin once the royals were seated and Clint threw some gold at the winemaker and grabbed his bow.

“Showtime.” He muttered mostly to himself.

Clint climbed up on one of the stakes supporting a tent, unnoticed by most of the crowd focused on the competition. The first round of archers all hit the target but got nowhere close to the bullseye. The crowd clapped politely as the next competitors stepped up. The first two arrows hit the outer edge of the bullseye, and the third competitor hitting the x in the dead center.

As the royals stood to congratulate the winner, Clint nocked an arrow and let it loose, landing directly at the feet of the king’s brother. The crowd gasped and they all turned to see Clint perched on top of the tent with his bow drawn with another arrow.   
  
“It’s Robin Hood!” A child’s voice exclaimed.

“Grab him! He’s a criminal!”    
  
Clint tuned them all out and met eyes with James as he stood open-mouthed in disbelief. He raised his eyes just minutely to see that Kate and Wanda had prepared what he had asked and let an arrow loose. The crowd was dead silent until Clint’s arrow sliced straight through the winner’s, slicing it lengthwise. There was utter pandemonium but Clint paid no attention. He was tying a rope to the top of the tent and the other end to an arrow. He mimed to James to grab onto his hand, only to be met with a confused glance. 

With a deep breath, Clint nocked the arrow with the rope and let it fly up and over until it landed squarely in the middle of the cart on the other side of the royal grandstand. When he heard a whistle of confirmation, he ripped the bowstring off, slung the sturdy curved bow over the rope, and pushed himself off the tent.

He hurtled towards the royals standing in the middle of the archery field and held his hand out to James. 

“Grab my hand!” He shouted. “I’m taking your fiance as my prize, you said winner’s choice!”

When Clint felt James’ hand make contact with his he let his legs reach the ground and take a few running steps up the side of the grandstand before letting the rope guide them over the top and onto the cart. They had barely landed when Kate urged the horse into a gallop and Wanda was slicing through rope and they were off. 

“Good lord man.” James said when he had finally caught his breath. “The stories about you are not nearly as thrilling as the real thing.”   
  
Clint just grinned and laid back on the flat cart as he heaved heavy breaths with closed eyes. “I saw a chance and I couldn’t let you get married to that….snake of a man.” He opened his eyes and looked at James. “You deserve a chance at your true love. You might have to clear your name first, since we might have made you a runaway.”

“You did all that…. Just so-”   
  
“Yeah, James. You deserve better.” Clint grinned at him. 

James just looked down awkwardly and fiddled with his fingers. “Well in that case...” He reached his hand out grab onto Clint’s. “I don’t think it’s going to be an issue of clearing my name.” 

He grinned back at Clint and felt himself get tackled into a messy kiss. Clint laughed as they hit a rock on the road and clacked teeth. 

“Welcome to the outlaw life, Lord Barnes.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/_AMAMOT) or i’m back on [tumblr](https://askmeaboutmyoctopustheory.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Comments and kudos feed my family and by family I mean ego


End file.
